Department of Health and Social Care

Mental Health Services: Standards

Margaret Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the average time from first contact with the NHS specialist mental health services to the commencement of regular talking therapy treatment for someone with a mental health condition receiving treatment through talking therapy.

Maria Caulfield: In England, for the reporting period of 2022/23, there were 1,215,329 referrals to the NHS Talking Therapies programme, where treatment was started within the same period. The average waiting time from a referral being received to first treatment was 19.8 days. For the reporting period of February 2024, there were 109,260 referrals that started treatment within the same period, with an average 17.1 day wait from referral to first treatment. A referral has accessed services when the patient has attended their first treatment appointment, or an Internet Enabled Therapy log has been recorded for them.

Ambulance Services: Databases

Sir David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2024 to Question 23378 on Ambulance Services: Databases, which directive issued under section 254 of the Health and Social Care 2012 Act NHS England is using to process de-identified data for use in the ambulance data services dashboard in the federated data platform product.

Andrew Stephenson: The Federated Data Platform will bring together information on services, waiting times, equipment, and medicines, allowing the National Health Service to use data to improve outcomes for patients. The directions used to process de-identified data for use in the ambulance data services dashboard in the Federated Data Platform, is NHS England’s De-Identified Data Analytics and Publication Directions 2023, which is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/about-nhs-digital/corporate-information-and-documents/directions-and-data-provision-notices/secretary-of-state-directions/nhs-england-de-identified-data-analytics-and-publication-directions-2023These are directions given by my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to establish arrangements for the governance of the ongoing processing of de-identified data, and to act as a framework for the future analysis, linkage, and de-identification of data for analysis by NHS England. The Ambulance Data Services Dashboard in the Federated Data Platform also aligns to the Ambulance Data Set Directions 2022, which is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/about-nhs-digital/corporate-information-and-documents/directions-and-data-provision-notices/nhs-england-directions/ambulance-data-set-directions-2022These are directions originally given by NHS England to NHS Digital, to establish and operate a system for the collection and analysis of nationally consistent operational and clinical data from all ambulance services in England.The legal bases for these specific directions are s261(5)(d) and s13Z3 (e) and (f), of the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Further information on the legal grounds for data processing in relation to the Ambulance Data Services Dashboard can be found in the privacy notice. This is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/privacy-notice/how-we-use-your-information/nhs-federated-data-platform-privacy-notice/fdp-products-and-product-privacy-notices/ambulance-data-services-ads-dashboard-fdp-product-privacy-notice/

Dental Services: Children

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the number of children unable to access NHS dentistry in England; and whether she has set a target date by which all children in England will be able to access an NHS dentist.

Andrea Leadsom: The Dentistry Recovery Plan will make dental services faster, simpler, and fairer for patients, and will fund approximately 2.5 million additional appointments, or more than 1.5 million additional courses of dental treatment. The Dentistry Recovery plan also sets out a new emphasis on prevention and good oral health in children. As part of this plan, our 'Smile for Life' initiative includes supporting nurseries and early years settings to incorporate good oral hygiene into daily routines, and providing advice to expectant parents on how to protect their baby’s teeth. The plan will deploy mobile dental teams into schools to provide advice and deliver preventative treatments to more than 165,000 children. Data on the number of children who have been seen by a National Health Service dentist in the last 12 months is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-dental-statistics/2022-23-annual-reportData is also available on the number of adults who have tried to get an NHS dentist appointment in the last 24 months, and whether they were or were not successful. This data is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/2023/07/13/gp-patient-survey-dental-statistics-january-to-march-2023-england/

Obesity: Children

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle the potential impact of outdoor advertising on children’s (a) diet and (b) obesity levels.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government is committed to tackling childhood obesity. We are implementing landmark advertising restrictions from October 2025, which will protect children from the advertising of less healthy food and drink on television before the 9:00pm watershed, and paid-for advertising online. Evidence shows that these restrictions will have a direct impact on childhood obesity by targeting the media that children experience most.

Cannabis: Misuse

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the number of admissions to hospital for cannabis use in the last five years.

Andrea Leadsom: The following table shows the number of finished admission episodes with a primary diagnosis recorded for cannabis use, in each of the last five years:YearHospital admissions2022/231892021/223542020/215082019/203672018/19375Source: NHS England publishes information on hospital admissions, which is available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-admitted-patient-care-activity

Dental Services: Internet

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will hold discussions with (a) Healthwatch England and (b) other relevant stakeholders on the potential impact of the change to the requirement for practices to update the NHS website on whether they are accepting NHS patients to include the phrase when availability allows on the accuracy of reporting of NHS dental access; and what proportion of dental practices are updating their websites in line with that requirement.

Andrea Leadsom: National Health Service dentists are required to update their NHS website profiles at least every 90 days, to ensure patients have access to up-to-date information on where they can access care. Integrated care boards (ICBs) can review which practices in their areas have not updated their profiles in a 90-day period, and work with practices to ensure they comply.Appointment availability can fluctuate daily, for example with patients cancelling and rescheduling appointments. We have updated the wording on the NHS website profiles to when availability allows, to portray a status which is more reflective of the way that most contractors are already working. This wording was added to the NHS.UK website on 2 April 2024.Since March 2024 the number of practices reporting that they are taking on new patients via their NHS website profile has increased. Nearly 500 more dental practices on the NHS Find a Dentist website were showing themselves as open to new adult patients as of 8 April 2024, compared to the end of January 2024.

Hospitals: Radio

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help support hospital radio stations.

Andrew Stephenson: Hospital radio can provide National Health Service patients and visitors with a positive experience at a time when they are feeling vulnerable. NHS trusts work locally with volunteers and organisations to provide this service. Decisions about supporting the service are made most appropriately at a local level.

Leukaemia: Research

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve research into acute myeloid leukaemia.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department is proud to invest £1.3 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was over £121.8 million for 2022/23, and more is spent on cancer than any other disease group. The Government, through the NIHR, is committed to improving research into the cancers with the poorest survival rates, such as acute myeloid leukaemia, by funding high quality, timely research that leads to improved outcomes for patients and the public, and makes the health and social care system more efficient, effective, and safe. Research evidence is vital for improving treatments and outcomes for people, including those with pancreatic cancer, and other less survivable cancers. The following table shows NIHR research spend on diagnosis, treatment, and diagnosis and treatment of blood cancers, which includes leukaemia, since 2018:Number of projectsTotal awards valueBlood cancer diagnosis11£11,900,000Blood cancer treatment14£14,700,000Blood cancer diagnosis and treatment4£7,700,000 In 2023, the Government awarded £2 million to new interdisciplinary research teams tackling hard to treat cancers, via the Medical Research Council’s two-day cancer sandpit strategic funding opportunity, focused on technological innovation for understanding cancers with the poorest survival rates. The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome applications for research into any aspect of human health, including acute myeloid leukaemia. All applications are assessed for funding by peer review committees. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by factors including the quality of the proposals, and their scientific potential. All applications for research into pancreatic cancer and other less survivable cancers, made through open competition, have been funded.

Dentistry

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of trends in levels of morale in the dental profession; and what steps her Department is taking to retain dentists.

Andrea Leadsom: NHS England publishes data on dentists’ working patterns, motivation, and morale, most recently on 25 April 2024, which is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/dental-working-hours/2022-23-working-patterns-motivation-and-morale?key=FMh9QF47eDnxL0TEhtBkBsPgH7eWhfSJqURn3f6kRNOTbaKuOUhL1l9vpEKJPdd5The Dentistry Recovery Plan will make dental services faster, simpler, and fairer for patients, and will fund approximately 2.5 million additional appointments, or more than 1.5 million additional courses of dental treatment.We want to encourage all professionals to commit more of their time to National Health Service work, and to work in areas of the country with low provision of NHS dental care. That is why we are introducing Golden Hellos, as set out in our plan to reform and recover NHS dentistry. A Golden Hello of £20,000 will be offered per dentist, for a total of up to 240 dentists. The Golden Hellos will support practices in areas where recruitment is particularly challenging, and make a real difference to those patients needing dental care.Furthermore, our New Patient Premium will offer dental practices cash incentives for taking on new patients, giving better access to anyone who has not received NHS dental care in the past two years. Dentists will receive an extra £15 or £50 per treatment, depending on the work required, which is on top of the funding they would already receive for this care.

Dental Services: Public Consultation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her policy paper entitled Faster, simpler and fairer: our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry, published on 7 February 2024, when she plans to open her planned consultation with the dental profession on reforming the contract to make NHS work more attractive.

Andrea Leadsom: As set out in Faster, simpler, fairer: our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry, we are working on further reforms to the 2006 contract, in discussion with the dental profession, to properly reflect the care needed by different patients, and more fairly remunerate practices. We are developing options through consultation with the dental profession, in advance of a further announcement later this year. Any changes would be phased in from 2025 onwards.

Liver Diseases: Washington and Sunderland West

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support the detection of liver disease in Washington and Sunderland West constituency.

Andrew Stephenson: The Northern Cancer Alliance (NCA) is supporting services to enable the early detection of liver disease across the North East and North Cumbria (NENC) Integrated Care Board (ICB), including in the Washington and Sunderland West Constituency. The focus of work has been to support liver services across NENC to invite more than 80% of patients with cirrhosis, a type of liver disease, to monthly ultrasound surveillance. For 2024/25, the NCA has invested just over £200,000 into trusts across NENC to help improve their monitoring systems for cirrhosis patients. The NENC ICB is also enrolled in a Community Liver Health Check pilot in Newcastle, being delivered by the system’s Hepatitis C Operational Delivery Networks. This will provide FibroScans in one stop community clinics where patients have relevant blood testing, liver ultrasound, and other investigations, as required. The pilot has expanded into North Tyneside and when resources allow, they intend to develop additional clinics across the area.

NHS: Carbon Emissions

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress her Department has made on ensuring compliance by NHS suppliers with NHS England’s target for all suppliers to publicly report targets, emissions and publish a Carbon Reduction Plan for global emissions aligned to the NHS net zero target, for all of their Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 2027.

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment with NHS England of the impact of companies being unable to comply with the NHS England requirement for suppliers to commit globally by 2027 to achieve net zero by 2045 on NHS (a) supply and (b) services.

Andrew Stephenson: In 2021, NHS England published the NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap, which sets out a series of milestones to support National Health Service suppliers to align with the NHS’s net zero ambitions. The 2027 requirement for suppliers to publicly report targets, emissions, and publish a Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) for global emissions aligned to the NHS net zero target, will build on milestones implemented in 2023 and 2024.The milestone of 1 April 2023 required that suppliers bidding for any new contracts above £5 million per annum publish a CRP for their UK Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and a subset of scope 3 emissions as a minimum. This requirement was proportionately extended to all new procurements from April 2024, with a full CRP required for new procurements above £5 million per annum, and new frameworks operated by in-scope organisations. A Net Zero Commitment is required for procurements of lower value, as set out in the above-mentioned guidance.NHS England has proactively engaged with suppliers since the launch of the NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap, and continues to engage with regulators, suppliers, and industry bodies, ahead of implementing future roadmap milestones, such as the April 2027 milestone. NHS England’s engagement approach has included regular supplier forums with trade bodies, external webinars, and horizon scanning of both the global and the United Kingdom’s regulatory and reporting landscapes.NHS England launched the Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment in June 2023, which enables a two-way conversation with suppliers and the NHS. This online voluntary, self-assessment and reporting tool allows suppliers to understand how to align with the NHS net zero and sustainability ambitions. After completing the assessment, suppliers receive a sustainability maturity score, valid for 12 months, against NHS priorities, and which signposts their current position and pathway to progress.The April 2027 milestone is anticipated to build on the approach set out in the published guidance on implementing the April 2023 and April 2024 NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap requirements, which includes consideration of the relevant and proportionate application of the policy within procurements.

Hormones: Sales

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on steps to (a) tackle the illegal sale of cross-sex hormones online and (b) protect public health.

Andrew Stephenson: Strict regulatory controls govern medicinal products for human use, including their manufacture, distribution, retail sale and supply, and advertisement. The medicines referred to cannot be advertised directly to the public, and any online offer to sell or supply them to a patient would likely contravene the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.Instances of United Kingdom-based non-compliant activity relating to the online advertising, sale, or supply of medicines are reviewed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on a case-by-case basis, and appropriate action taken. Enforcement options include removal of the offending weblink, remedial intervention to bring the owner into compliance, or a criminal investigation and possible prosecution.The MHRA also works closely with partners to prevent medicines from entering or being traded in the UK illegally. The MHRA’s Fake Meds campaign encourages people in the UK to use safe and legitimate sources when buying medication online. The MHRA also promotes the reporting of suspicious medicinal products and adverse side effects via its Yellow Card scheme. Further information on the Fake Meds campaign and the Yellow Card scheme is available, respectively, at the following links:https://fakemeds.campaign.gov.uk/https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/

Post-polio Syndrome: North West

Mark Logan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help support people with post-polio syndrome in the North West; and if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the care provided to those people.

Andrew Stephenson: Although there is currently no cure for post-polio syndrome, a range of treatments and support is available to help manage the symptoms and improve quality of life. Once post-polio syndrome is identified, patients with the condition, including those in the North West, can usually be managed through routine access to primary or secondary care provided via a general practice or consultant. Treatment will depend on the severity of a patient’s condition, but care may involve pain-relieving medication, physiotherapy, dietary and exercise advice, and counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy. It is for commissioners, providers, and clinicians, supported by relevant clinical practice, to determine the best treatment for people with post-polio syndrome. There are no plans currently to make an assessment of the adequacy of the care provided to people with post-polio syndrome in the North West.

Carbamazepine

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had recent discussions with Novartis on the adequacy of supply of the epilepsy medication Tegretol.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department has been working intensively to address issues with the supply of some epilepsy medications, and as a result we have helped to resolve issues with Tegretol 200 milligram and 400 milligram prolonged release tablets, and Tegretol 100 milligram immediate release tablets. We are aware of a shortage of Tegretol 100 milligram/5 millilitre liquid, but have been advised that resupplies are expected this month. We are continuing to work closely with manufacturers, including Novartis, to help ensure the continued supply of these medicines for patients in the United Kingdom, for example by asking suppliers to expedite deliveries.Whilst we can’t always prevent supply issues, we have a range of well-established tools and processes to mitigate risks to patients. These include close and regular engagement with suppliers, use of alternative strengths or forms of a medicine to allow patients to remain on the same product, expediting regulatory procedures, sourcing unlicensed imports from abroad, adding products to the restricted exports and hoarding list, use of Serious Shortage Protocols, and issuing National Health Service communications to provide management advice and information on the issue to healthcare professionals, so they can advise and support their patients.

Health Professions: Qualifications

Allan Dorans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring that degrees awarded by the Open University are recognised as professional qualifications by the (a) Health and Care Professions Council and (b) British Psychological Society.

Andrew Stephenson: No such assessment has been made by the Department. The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), which is independent of Government, is the statutory regulator of practitioner psychologists and 14 other professions in the United Kingdom. As part of this responsibility, the HCPC is required by law to set the standards of education, training, and practice for practitioner psychologists, and the other professions it regulates.Approved education institutions and practice partners develop the specific content and design of programmes to meet the HCPC’s education and training standards. The HCPC approves and monitors training programmes to ensure that they meet its standards. The HCPC’s legislation requires that UK trained applicants to its register must hold an approved qualification.It would not be appropriate for the Government to intervene in the design of standards of education and training, or the design of the curricula to meet those standards. This is to respect the independence and expertise of the HCPC and education institutions in designing standards and curricula that ensure public safety.There are a number of different postgraduate options to train as a psychologist. The British Psychological Society offers qualifications across a number of domains in psychology, to support individuals in their chosen specialism. Completion of one of its qualifications will provide an individual with eligibility to become a Chartered Psychologist.

Phramacy: Drugs

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help tackle shortages of medicines in pharmacies.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department has a responsibility to work with United Kingdom medicine license holders, to help ensure continuity of supply. We monitor and manage medicine supply at a national level, so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. There are approximately 14,000 medicines licensed for supply in the UK, and the overwhelming majority are in good supply. The medicine supply chain is complex, global, and highly regulated, and supply issues can be caused by a range of factors. For example, suppliers can encounter manufacturing problems, difficulty accessing raw materials, and surges in demand. These are commonly cited as the drivers of recent supply issues, which have affected many countries, not just the UK.Whilst we can’t always prevent supply issues, we have a range of well-established tools and processes to mitigate risks to patients at a national level. These include close and regular engagement with suppliers, use of alternative strengths or forms of a medicine to allow patients to remain on the same product, expediting regulatory procedures, sourcing unlicensed imports from abroad, adding products to the restricted exports and hoarding list, use of Serious Shortage Protocols, and issuing National Health Service communications to provide management advice and information on the issue to healthcare professionals including pharmacists, so they can advise and support their patients.

Liver Diseases: Screening

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the development of intelligent liver function tests by the University of Dundee; and if she will make it her policy to increase the rollout of these tests in areas with the highest levels of liver disease in England.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government is working with the National Health Service to support earlier diagnosis of liver disease, and to identify patients at risk. This includes plans agreed as part of the £2.3 billion diagnostics transformation programme, to upgrade the digital capabilities of laboratories across the country and ensure that they have the capability required to offer Intelligent Liver Function Tests (iLFTs).NHS England is reviewing the liver fibrosis pathways, and looking at developing a diagnosis pathway starting in primary care that will make use of both laboratory-based tests, such as iLFTs, and community diagnostic centres. The Government will make a further assessment of this work once it is complete, including the benefits of an increased rollout of iLFTs across England.

Prostate Cancer: Medical Treatments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making laser treatment for prostate cancer available on the NHS.

Andrew Stephenson: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has considered developing interventional procedures guidance on magnetic resonance imaging guided laser interstitial thermal therapy for early prostate cancer. However, it is awaiting publication of further evidence before being brought forward. The NICE has not made any recommendations on laser treatment for prostate cancer.

Coronavirus: Disclosure of Information

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will publish a list of medical professionals (a) warned, (b) suspended and (c) with attempted suspensions for raising concerns over (i) covid-19 treatments and (ii) the pandemic response.

Maria Caulfield: The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of all medical doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It sets and enforces the standards all doctors must adhere to. The GMC is independent of Government, and directly accountable to Parliament. The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) operates separately from the investigatory role of the GMC, and makes independent decisions about whether doctors are fit to practise medicine. The hearings and decisions of the MPTS are published and available to access online.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce diagnostic waiting times for people with suspected young onset dementia.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the rate of diagnosis for people who develop symptoms of dementia before the age of 65.

Helen Whately: As part of the spending review settlement in 2021/22, £17 million was allocated to the National Health Service to address dementia waiting lists, and to increase the number of diagnoses, which had been adversely impacted by the pandemic. NHS England will share learning on the impact of this funding and examples of good practice with dementia clinical networks, by the end of Summer 2024.However, the dementia diagnosis rate is not calculated for patients aged under 65 years old. This is because the numbers of patients known to have dementia in the sample population age groups comprising the zero to 64 years old age range, is not large enough for reliable estimates to be made.The Primary Care Dementia Data publication does include a monthly count of the number of patients aged 65 years old and under who do have a dementia diagnosis on their patient record, which is expressed as a raw count, and as a percentage of registered patients aged zero to 64 years old.

Ambulance Services: West Midlands

Mrs Paulette Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department are taking to reduce ambulance waiting times in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Birmingham, Erdington constituency.

Helen Whately: Our Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services sets out the range of measures being taken to achieve our ambition of reducing average Category 2 ambulance response times to 30 minutes across 2024/25, including in the West Midlands and Birmingham. Information on the delivery plan is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/B2034-delivery-plan-for-recovering-urgent-and-emergency-care-services.pdfAmbulance trusts received £200 million of additional funding in 2023/24, to increase deployed hours and reduce response times. We will maintain this additional capacity this year, alongside the 5,000 additional permanent hospital beds delivered last year to improve patient flow through hospitals, and reduce ambulance capacity lost to ambulance patient handover delays.Since we published our plan, there have been significant improvements in ambulance response times, including in the West Midlands. In 2023/24, average Category 2 ambulance response times in the West Midlands were over twelve minutes faster compared to the previous year, a reduction of 25%.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Depressive Illnesses and Neurodiversity

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the number of people who were claiming (a) Employment Support Allowance and (b) out of work Universal Credit where their main disabling condition was (i) attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, (ii) anxiety and depression and (iii) autistic spectrum disorders, in each month since November 2008.

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the number of people who were claiming (a) Disability Living Allowance and (b) Personal Independence Payment where their main disabling condition was (i) attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, (ii) anxiety and depression and (iii) autistic spectrum disorders, in each month since November 2008.

Mims Davies: On Employment Support Allowance and out of work Universal Credit, the information requested is not readily available due to how the medical condition is recorded so to collate and provide it would incur disproportionate cost. However, Monthly statistics on the outcomes of Employment and Support Allowance work capability assessments are available by primary high-level medical condition on Stat-Xplore. The latest statistics are available by date of decision from November 2008 to September 2023, or date of claim start from October 2008 to June 2023. Statistics on the outcomes of Universal Credit work capability assessments (UC WCA) are available by high-level medical condition for the period from January 2022 to November 2023 in Table 7 of the latest UC WCA data tables. On Disability Living Allowance (DLA), the information requested is in the attached document. Points to note:Figures are only readily available on a quarterly basis, to provide the requested information per month would incur a disproportionate cost.Figures cover both DLA Adult and DLA Child on the caseload at a given month.Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000.Figures are for England and Wales only.Figures follow Personal Independence Payment’s (PIP) definition of main disabling conditions, and therefore, can be compared to PIP figures. The latest available data on Personal Independence Payment claims can be found at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. The volume of PIP claimants with certain conditions can be found in the ‘PIP Cases with Entitlement’ dataset by going to ‘Disability’ and selecting the relevant conditions. To show the data since April 2013, select all months and then ‘Add to Column/Row’. The data is based on primary disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer systems. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which the decision is based but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics. PIP was first introduced in April 2013, so there is no data available before this point. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here. An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.Disability Living Allowance (DLA) (xlsx, 12.5KB)

State Retirement Pensions: Women

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the findings and recommendations from the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman report into the changes to Women’s State Pension Age, published on 21 March 2024.

Paul Maynard: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has many discussions with Cabinet colleagues as required to conduct the business of his Department. In laying the report before Parliament at the end of March, the Ombudsman has brought matters to the attention of this House, and a further update to the House will be provided once the report's findings have been fully considered.

Pensions

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help support people to save for a private pension.

Paul Maynard: Automatic Enrolment (AE) has transformed participation in workplace pension saving. More than 11 million workers have been automatically enrolled into workplace pensions to date, with the participation rate of eligible employees in the private sector increasing from 42% in 2012 to 86% in 2022. Over £115bn was saved into workplace pensions for eligible individuals in 2022. Expanding AE to younger people and helping all eligible workers save from the first pound of earnings will boost overall saving levels, once fully implemented, by an extra £2 billion a year in pension contributions. The Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) Act 2023 provides the necessary powers to deliver the expansion of AE. We are committed to implementing these measures in the mid-2020s. We intend to carry out a consultation on the detailed implementation at the right time. We will report to Parliament before using the powers in the Act.

Women against State Pension Inequality

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times Ministers in his Department have met with representatives of the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign since 2015.

Paul Maynard: Departmental Ministers met with representatives from the WASPI campaign group on 29 June 2016. The department did not meet with representatives from the campaign group for the duration of the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman's investigation which began in 2018.In laying the report before Parliament at the end of March, the Ombudsman has brought matters to the attention of this House, and I will provide a further update to the House once I have considered the report's findings.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Kenya: Humanitarian Aid

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to help ensure that humanitarian aid reaches people forcibly evacuated due to dam safety concerns in Kenya.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: In response to recent flooding the UK has provided £850,000 to UNICEF to support the provision of cash transfers to nearly 7,000 households in the worst affected counties. UK funding will also deliver urgently needed health, nutrition and sanitation services. The UK is committed to ensuring its aid reaches those who need it most.

Burkina Faso: Press Freedom

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the suspension of foreign media access in Burkina Faso.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK opposes the recent decision of the Burkinabe government to suspend international media outlets, including the BBC and the Guardian, following their coverage of a Human Rights Watch report which alleged the authorities had been involved in attacks on civilians in Burkina Faso. On 29 April, the UK and USA issued a joint statement condemning the alleged violence against civilians and the media suspensions. We are clear that societies are strengthened, not threatened, by well-informed public and strong, independent media. We will continue to raise our concerns on media freedom and democratic space with authorities in Burkina Faso.

Development Aid: Education

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of UK Official Development Assistance spending on the resilience of primary and secondary school education in crisis-affected countries.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The FCDO supports resilient education systems through our investments through multilateral partners; bilateral programmes; and education policy influencing. This includes FCDO's position paper, 'Addressing the Climate, Environment, and Biodiversity Crises in and through Girls' Education' (2022), which provides a framework of priority actions to build resilient and climate smart school systems in the face of increasing extreme weather events. The UK recently pledged £80 million to Education Cannot Wait which supports education in crisis-affected countries, including those affected by natural and weather-related disasters. FCDO is also the second largest donor to the Global Partnership for Education, which spends over 60 percent of its funds in fragile and conflict-affected states.

Gaza: Civilians

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he is having discussions with Gazans living in the UK on Government support for their relatives living in Gaza.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Palestinians are facing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis. The UK is playing a leadership role in alleviating that suffering. We more than trebled our aid commitment this past year and we are doing everything we can to get more aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air.The Government has met several times with the Palestinian Ambassador and Head of Palestine Mission, Dr Husam Zomlot, to discuss the UK's humanitarian response. The Deputy Foreign Secretary last met him on 08 April and Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon met him on 27 February.

Development Aid: Education

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how many girls have been supported by UK Official Development Assistance funding to (a) enter and (b) continue education.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Girls' education is a UK international development priority. We champion the right of every girl to access 12 years of quality education. Since 2015, UK Official Development Assistance has supported over 10 million girls to gain a decent education. The FCDO supports girls to access education through a number of mechanisms. Our Girls' Education Challenge programme has enabled over 1.6 million of the most marginalised girls to access education. We have 18 bilateral education programmes globally, and we are one of the leading donors to the global funds for Education - the Global Partnership for Education and Education Cannot Wait (ECW). Between 2017 and 2021, ECW supported over 6.9 million children (48 percent girls) to access education.

Israeli Settlements

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of plans by Israeli settler movement organisations to march to Gaza on 15 May 2024 with the aim of establishing new settlements there.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK policy on settlement expansion is clear: settlements are illegal under international law and only make it harder to progress to achieving peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians. We have called on the Israeli Government to halt seizures of Palestinian lands immediately.On 3 May, the Foreign Secretary announced new sanctions on extremist groups and individuals for inciting and perpetrating settler violence in the West Bank. The measures impose financial restrictions on the entities and individuals, and travel restrictions on the individuals. The UK will not hesitate to take further action if needed, including through further sanctions.

Gaza: Israel

Imran Hussain: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what discussions (a) he, (b) his Ministers and (c) officials from his Department have had with their counterparts in Israel on the (i) airstrike at Al Mawasi on 18 January 2024, (ii) killings of World Central Kitchen workers in Gaza on 1 April 2024 and (iii) discovery of mass graves at al-Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Foreign Secretary has underlined the need for Israel to ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza and ensure effective systems to guarantee the safety of humanitarian operations. It must take all possible measures to ensure the safety of medical personnel and facilities. The Foreign Secretary has made our position clear to his Israeli counterparts, including during his visit to the region on 17 April, and we continue to raise this with Israel at the highest levels.Reports of the discovery of mass graves in Gaza, including within medical facilities, are deeply concerning. We continue to call on all parties to respect International Humanitarian Law and ensure the protection of civilians.

Gaza: Aid Workers

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 26 April 2024 to Question 22287 on Gaza: Aid Workers and with reference to the investigation by the IDF which reported on 5 April 2024, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of that investigation into the killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers on 1 April 2024.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: As the Foreign Secretary has said we are carefully reviewing the initial findings of Israel's investigations into the killing of World Central Kitchen aid workers and welcome the suspension of two officers as a first step. Their inquiry so far has highlighted failures in deconfliction processes and the unacceptable conduct of the IDF personnel involved. This must never happen again.The Foreign Secretary has underlined the need for Israel to ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza and ensure effective systems to guarantee the safety of humanitarian operations. We continue to raise this with Israel at the highest levels.

Israel Defense Forces: Private Military and Security Companies

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2024 to Question 22165 on Israel Defense Forces: Private Military and Security Companies, for what reason the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed his Department of the number of British Nationals who immigrated to Israel on their own to serve in the IDF in September 2023.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2024 to Question 22165 on Israel Defense Forces: Private Military and Security Companies, who in his Department did the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs inform of the number of British Nationals who immigrated to Israel on their own to serve in the IDF in September 2023.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2024 to Question 22165 on Israel Defense Forces: Private Military and Security Companies, whether the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has given his Department the names of 80 British Nationals who immigrated to Israel on their own to serve in the IDF in September 2023.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided the number of British Nationals who immigrated to Israel on their own to serve in the IDF. It did not go into specifics on names or dates.

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

Layla Moran: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had recent discussions he has had with (a) the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and (b) United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on (i) getting aid into and (ii) the distribution of aid within Gaza.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are working to get aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air, working with multiple implementing partners including various UN agencies and international and UK NGOs. UK funding has supported the work of partners including the British Red Cross, World Food Programme, UNICEF and Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERCS) to deliver vital supplies.The Foreign Secretary has also appointed a Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, who is working intensively to address the blockages preventing more aid reaching Gaza. He maintains regular contact with the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories.

Israeli Settlements

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of links between the Israeli government and Israeli settlers.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK continues to take a strong stance against settler violence. Extremist settlers, by targeting and attacking Palestinian civilians, are undermining security and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians. The Foreign Secretary has made this clear to his Israeli counterparts, most recently during his visit to the region on 17 April. The Israeli authorities must clamp down on those responsible.On 3 May, the Foreign Secretary announced new sanctions on extremist groups and individuals for inciting and perpetrating settler violence in the West Bank. The measures impose financial restrictions on the entities and individuals, and travel restrictions on the individuals. The UK will not hesitate to take further action if needed, including through further sanctions.

Ukraine: International Assistance

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking to maintain international support for (a) humanitarian aid and (b) reconstruction in Ukraine.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: We are working with international partners, including the G7, to ensure continued support for aid and reconstruction in Ukraine. The UK is a leading bilateral donor - £4.7 billion in humanitarian and economic support. During his recent visit, the Foreign Secretary reiterated that Ukraine remains a top priority and launched negotiations with Ukraine on a 100 Year Partnership - a new agreement that will build enduring links between the UK and Ukraine across the spectrum of trade, security and defence cooperation, science and tech, education and culture. The Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in June will be a key political moment to signal international solidarity and drive progress on Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction, where we will build on the success of the London URC in June 2023, which saw over $60 billion raised for Ukraine's recovery.

Ethiopia and Sudan: Humanitarian Aid

Sarah Champion: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how much and what proportion of funding announced at the pledging conferences for (a) Sudan and (b) Ethiopia is new; and how will that funding be released.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: On 15 April Lord Benyon attended the Sudan Humanitarian Pledging Conference in Paris where the UK re-affirmed our funding for Sudan this financial year of £89 million. We are still in the process of allocating funding in Sudan for 2024/25, but part of it includes funding to UNICEF which will provide emergency and life-saving food assistance to support people in hard-to reach areas in Sudan, including nutrition, water and hygiene services for 500,000 children under 5. At the high-level pledging conference for Ethiopia which took place in April, I announced £100 million in UK funding. This support had not been previously announced. This included £30 million to treat acute malnutrition for those in greatest need.

Occupied Territories: Violence

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2024 to Question 20107 on West Bank: Violence, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on (a) stopping settler violence and (b) holding perpetrators accountable; and what steps he is taking to help prevent settlement expansion in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK continues to take a strong stance against settler violence. Extremist settlers, by targeting and attacking Palestinian civilians, are undermining security and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians. The Foreign Secretary has made this clear to his Israeli counterparts, most recently during his visit to the region on 17 April. The Israeli authorities must clamp down on those responsible.On 3 May, the Foreign Secretary announced new sanctions on extremist groups and individuals for inciting and perpetrating settler violence in the West Bank. The measures impose financial restrictions on the entities and individuals, and travel restrictions on the individuals. The UK will not hesitate to take further action if needed, including through further sanctions.The UK policy on settlement expansion is also clear: settlements are illegal under international law and only make it harder to progress to achieving peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians. We have called on the Israeli Government to halt seizures of Palestinian lands immediately.

Rwanda: Rule of Law

Angela Crawley: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the operation of the rule of law in Rwanda.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Conclusions from FCDO experts fed into the Home Office's policy statement on evidence of the safety of the Republic of Rwanda, published on 11 January 2024, which assessed the Rwanda's legal framework. The World Justice Project's Rule of Law index ranks Rwanda top in sub-Saharan Africa and amongst low-income countries for order and security. The UK encourages Rwanda to uphold and champion Commonwealth values of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights.

Gaza: Ceasefires

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent progress he has made on helping to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The fastest way to end the conflict is to secure a deal which gets the hostages out and allows for a pause in the fighting in Gaza. The Prime Minister discussed the current hostage negotiations with Prime Minister Netanyahu on 30 April and expressed his hope that negotiations are concluded to allow hostages to return home as soon as possible.We are clear that the vital elements for a lasting peace include the release of all hostages; the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza, accompanied by an international support package; removing Hamas's capacity to launch attacks against Israel; Hamas no longer being in charge of Gaza; and a political horizon which provides a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution and ensures Israelis and Palestinians can live in security and dignity.

Haiti: Turks and Caicos Islands

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 26 April 2024 to Question 23264 on Haiti: Turks and Caicos Islands, how many additional specialist police officers have been recruited by the Turks and Caicos Islands in 2024.

David Rutley: Constitutionally, national security is a reserved responsibility. Operational policing matters, including recruitment, is the responsibility of the Commissioner of Police who is appointed by the Governor. The new Commissioner of Police took up post in April 2024 and is driving forward an active recruitment campaign to build capability and capacity. The FCDO has continued to provide support to the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF) funding a team of privately contracted specialist serious crime investigators since 2022. The FCDO increased support to the RTCIPF this year, with five extra investigators and four firearms officers currently in territory. The FCDO are also supporting the RTCIPF through a variety of specialist training (including investigations, use of force, data and intelligence) and additional equipment to support efforts to combat serious crime (including new capabilities on digital forensics, body-worn cameras, drones and radar CCTV).

Western Sahara: Self-determination of States

Ian Byrne: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he is taking steps to (a) promote and (b) defend the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

David Rutley: The UK continues to support UN-led efforts to reach a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, based on compromise, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. We strongly support the work of Staffan de Mistura as Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Western Sahara and will continue to encourage constructive engagement with the political process and monitor progress.

Morocco: Western Sahara

Ian Byrne: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether arms exports licences have been issued for (a) equipment and (b) technology to Morocco for use in Western Sahara.

David Rutley: We examine each application on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria - a regime that is among the most rigorous and transparent in the world and which provides a thorough risk assessment framework.HM Government publishes data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics, including data on outcome, end user destination, overall value, type (e.g. military, other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data. The most recent Official Statistics cover the period 1 April - 30 June 2023.

Gibraltar

Greg Smith: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had discussions with his Gibraltarian counterpart on self-determination in Gibraltar, in the context of negotiations with the EU on the Gibraltar-Spain border.

David Rutley: The UK Government is working side-by-side with the Chief Minister and Government of Gibraltar in our efforts to conclude a UK-EU treaty. The UK Government is clear that the people of Gibraltar enjoy the right of self-determination. The 2006 Gibraltar Constitution - which was endorsed in referendum by the people of Gibraltar - provides for a modern and mature relationship between Gibraltar and the UK. The UK Government will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another State against their freely and democratically expressed wishes.

Manuel Guerrero

Kate Osborne: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made representations to the Qatari government on allegations of (a) mistreatment and (b) torture made by Manuel Avina Guerrero.

David Rutley: Supporting the welfare of British nationals detained overseas is a priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and we take all allegations of torture and mistreatment extremely seriously. When such concerns are raised, with the individual's consent, we will raise these with the relevant authorities. We are unable to provide comment on individual cases in line with relevant UK data protection legislation, which can be found at [https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office/about/personal-information-charter].

Gibraltar: UK Relations with EU

Greg Smith: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what his Department's expected timetable is for concluding negotiations with the EU on Gibraltar.

David Rutley: UK-EU negotiations began in October 2021 and there have been 18 formal rounds. The Foreign Secretary, together with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picard, met European Commission Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič and Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs José Manuel Albares in Brussels on Friday 12 April. General political lines were agreed, including on the airport, goods and mobility. Negotiations will continue over the coming weeks to seek to conclude the UK-EU Agreement as soon as possible.

Haiti: Politics and Government

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what support his Department plans to provide to (a) Fritz Bélizaire, (b) Edgard Leblanc and (c) the Transitional Council in Haiti.

David Rutley: The UK is committed to supporting a Haitian-led political solution to address the escalating violence in the country. We welcomed the swearing in of the Transitional Presidential Council (TPC) in Haiti as an important step on the journey to restoring much needed political stability. We now stress the need for TPC agreement on the candidates for the positions of President and Prime Minister so that these might be ratified swiftly.

Gibraltar: Spain

Greg Smith: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Defence on the strategic role of Gibraltar, in the context of the negotiations with the EU on the Gibraltar-Spain border.

David Rutley: The UK Government is clear that any agreement will preserve the operational autonomy of the military facilities in Gibraltar. The Foreign Secretary and Secretary of State for Defence have discussed and are unequivocal on this. Ministry of Defence officials are fully involved in our approach to the negotiations.

USA: Demonstrations

Martyn Day: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had discussions with his US counterpart on the (a) handling of pro-Palestine protests on university campuses and (b) potential impact of disbanding those protests on (i) free speech and (ii) the right to assembly in that country.

David Rutley: The handling of protests in the US is a matter for US authorities. The Deputy Foreign Secretary has not had any discussions with his US counterpart on the handling of pro-Palestine protests on university campuses or the potential impact of disbanding these protests.

British Overseas Territories

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what his (a) process and (b) timetable is for engaging with (i) governments and (ii) elected representatives on his Department's upcoming strategy refresh on the Overseas Territories.

David Rutley: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, working with other UK Government departments, is leading the development of a refreshed strategy for the Overseas Territories (OTs) to be published in 2024. The strategy will set clear direction and renewed aims for the UK Government across each of the following themes: economies, environment and climate, defence and security, governance, and communities. As set out in the December 2023 UK-OT Joint Declaration, the strategy is being developed through collaboration with the Territories. Consultations across the strategy themes are ongoing and are being delivered through engagement with OT governments, the OTs' representatives in the UK, Governors, and other key stakeholders.

Ukraine: War Crimes

Drew Hendry: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) provide funding for and (b) otherwise support the Ukrainian government to (i) investigate, (ii) arrest and (iii) prosecute Russian military (A) commanders and (B) personnel involved in the deployment of (1) choking and (2) other illegal chemical agents.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Russia's use of chemicals as a method of warfare in Ukraine is a breach of its obligations under the UN Chemical Weapons Convention. The UK has provided Ukraine with assistance against potential chemical attacks, including medical countermeasures and protection. We have supported the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to assist Ukraine to detect the use of chemicals on the battlefield.We have provided £6.2 million of capacity-building support to Ukraine's domestic work to document, investigate, and prosecute war crimes. Since 2022, we have provided £2.3 million in additional contributions to the International Criminal Court, in addition to our £13.2 million annual budget contribution for 2024.

Ukraine: Humanitarian Aid

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps he is taking to support the local delivery of humanitarian aid in Ukraine.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Since February 2022, the UK Government has committed £357 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and the region. This includes work with Ukrainian partners, sustaining vital humanitarian assistance across Ukraine. The UK has provided £31 million to the UN OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) Ukraine Humanitarian Fund, with over 31% of UHF funding going directly to Ukrainian organisations, and have supported projects with Ukrainian Red Cross Society, Mercy Corps and Non-Violent Peace Force to support Ukrainian humanitarian civil society to deliver assistance to communities affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Georgia: Elections

Adam Holloway: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had recent discussions with his Georgian counterpart on the impact of the foreign agent bill on the treatment of (a) UK and (b) international non-governmental organisations during elections in that country.

Adam Holloway: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of Georgia's draft law on Transparency of Foreign Influence.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The UK is committed to supporting a vibrant civil society in Georgia, which is an essential attribute of a healthy democracy. I [Minister for Europe] discussed this and a range of other issues with the Georgian Ambassador on 17 April, and on 2 May I publicly raised my concerns regarding the apparent excessive use of force by police during demonstrations in Tbilisi. His Majesty's Ambassador to Georgia has consistently made our concerns about the proposed law on Transparency of Foreign Influence known to the Georgian Government, most recently to the Prime Minister on 22 April and President on 4 May.

Mikheil Saakashvili

Adam Holloway: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made recent representations to his Georgian counterpart on the (a) release and (b) pardon of Mikhail Saakashvili.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: His Majesty's Ambassador to Georgia has discussed Mr Saakashvili's health and detention conditions with the Georgian Government and with Mr Saakashvili's supporters on several occasions. The former Foreign Secretary discussed Mr Saakashvili's detention with Georgian Foreign Minister Darchiashvili in January 2023. The UK is clear that Mr Saakashvili must receive treatment in line with international human rights standards, and that any further hearings regarding his case are in line with the rule of law and due process. We continue to follow the imprisonment of Mr Saakashvili's closely.

Georgia: Russia

Adam Holloway: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will hold discussions with his counterpart in Georgia on the conduct of Russia towards that country.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: As a valued international security partner, the UK holds regular discussions with the Georgian Government regarding combatting Russian hybrid aggression and illegal presence in Georgian territories. In November, the former Minister for Europe discussed Georgia's sovereignty over the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia with then Prime Minister Gharibashvili and Foreign Minister Darchiashvili, and His Majesty's Ambassador to Georgia regularly discusses these matters with Georgian counterparts. Countering Russian aggression in the region is a priority for the UK.

Georgia: Elections

Adam Holloway: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made recent representations to his counterpart in Georgia on the conduct of elections in that country.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The UK is committed to supporting Georgia to hold elections that meet international standards. During his March 2023 visit to Georgia, the former Foreign Secretary pledged £500,000 to support election monitoring in Georgia including £70,000 to support the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights' mission ahead of elections expected in October 2024. The former Minister for Europe discussed elections with then Georgian Prime Minister Gharibashvili during his visit to Tbilisi on 21 November 2023.

Georgia: Politics and Government

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what discussions he has had with his Georgian counterpart on the recent riots in that country relating to the On Transparency of Foreign Influence bill.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The UK is committed to supporting a vibrant civil society in Georgia, which is an essential attribute of a healthy democracy. I [Minister for Europe] discussed this and a range of other issues with the Georgian Ambassador on 17 April, and on 2 May I publicly raised my concerns regarding the apparent excessive use of force by police during demonstrations in Tbilisi. Our Ambassador to Georgia has consistently made our concerns about the proposed law on Transparency of Foreign Influence known to the Georgian Government, most recently to the Prime Minister on 22 April.

Home Office

Local Government: Corruption

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how resources are allocated to police forces for investigating (a) corruption and (b) bribery allegations in local councils.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on allegations of bribery in property development approvals in Slough.

Chris Philp: The Government is committed to the fight against corruption, which threatens the UK’s national security, prosperity and reputation as a fair, open society, and a good place to do business.The Government confirmed a total police funding settlement of up to £18.5 billion in 2024-25, an increase of up to £886.1 million when compared to 2023-24.Decisions on how funding and resources are utilised are an operational matter for Chief Constables and locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners, who are best placed to make resourcing decisions within their communities based on their local knowledge and experience.

Visas: Families

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 30 April 2024 to Question 23225 on Visas: Families, how many staff have been (a) recruited and (b) re-deployed to his Department's Family and Human Rights Unit.

Tom Pursglove: Whilst this information is recorded on our systems, it is not in a reportable format.

Migrants: Children

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of no recourse to public funds on (a) children from black and ethnic minority backgrounds and (b) children with British citizenship who have parents that were born outside the UK.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office is committed to the continuous review of the NRPF policy and officials are working with a wide range of stakeholders, including other government departments, the devolved administrations, and third sector organisations to develop a greater understanding of how children are directly and indirectly affected by parents / carers being subject to an NRPF condition.The Government published an overarching Equality Impact Assessment on the Compliant Environment measures, of which the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) is part. The impact of the policy on children has been considered as part of this assessment: Compliant environment: overarching equality impact assessment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Immigration: Databases

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been affected by merged identities in the Person Centric Data Platform.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he has taken to mitigate potential delays in visa application processing for people affected by merged identities.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been affected by merged identities created in the Identity Document Linking change.

Tom Pursglove: The Person Centric Data Platform (PCDP) holds millions of identities that have been submitted, or otherwise provided, in support of immigration applications.The ‘merged identities’ issue affects around 0.02% of PCDP customer records; over 99.98% of records are not impacted by this issue. We have identified around 46,000 records with an identity issue, of which over 13,000 have already been resolved and we have a dedicated team working on the remainder.The Home Office takes data security and accuracy very seriously. We continue pro-active analysis to identify potentially erroneous records so that appropriate remedial work can be undertaken as quickly, and as carefully, as possible, and ideally before the individual is even aware.Where customers identify an issue with their data, we encourage them to contact the UK Visas and Immigration Contact Centre so this can be investigated and resolved.As part of the Identity Document Linking change, we pro-actively highlighted a small number of records which were sent for manual resolution through our existing processes. We expect that most of these records would have been corrected before the person themselves would become aware.We do not hold information on how many people have contacted the Home Office due to a merged identity issue which is directly related to the document linking change.We are not aware of any significant delays to visa application processing as a result of this issue. UKVI also have a triage process in place so that where there may be an outstanding application, cases can be escalated for immediate resolution.

Sham Marriage

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate he has made of the number of applications to stay in the UK that are made on the basis of a sham marriage or civil partnership.

Tom Pursglove: The number of applications to stay in the UK that are made on the basis of a sham marriage or civil partnership does not form part of any current transparency data or migration statistics and is not published. The transparency data does, however, include a range of processing data and the latest data can be found at:www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigration.

Asylum: Hotels

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many hotels that were previously used to provide accommodation for asylum seekers and subsequently closed by his Department have subsequently been reopened for that purpose.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office has been clear that the use of hotels is a temporary and necessary measure to ensure we meet our statutory obligation to accommodate destitute asylum seekers.Since October 2023, none of the 150 hotels that have ceased to be used for accommodating asylum seekers have been re-contracted or re-used by the Home Office for this purpose.

Immigration Controls

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to help ensure that people with indefinite leave to remain that was granted before the digitisation of his Department's records are able to prove their immigration status when travelling.

Tom Pursglove: As part of our move to a ‘digital by default’ border and immigration system, physical immigration documents are being replaced by fully digital eVisas (an online record of the person’s immigration status).Customers with indefinite leave to enter or indefinite leave to remain (also known as settlement) who currently prove their rights using a physical document such as a wet-ink stamp in their passport or a vignette sticker, are encouraged to make a ‘No Time Limit’ (NTL) application.If their NTL application is successful, they will get a BRP to prove their rights. They should carry their BRP, along with their passport, when travelling internationally. Once they have a BRP, they will be able to create a UKVI account to access their eVisa later this year. By the end of 2024, ‘No Time Limit’ applicants will receive an eVisa, rather than a BRP. Further updates on this change will be available in due course.Customers who do not create a UKVI account will be able to use their legacy physical document such as a wet-ink stamp in their passport or a vignette sticker during 2025 when travelling. However, creating a UKVI account will bring a range of benefits to customers. This includes the fact that an eVisa cannot be lost or damaged, like a vignette, and there is no need for a potentially costly replacement. Customers who replace their legacy document with an eVisa will benefit from the automated access that public bodies, including the Department for Work & Pensions and the National Health Service will securely have to their immigration status, which will streamline access to key services. We are also developing technology to enable carriers to check immigration status automatically via systems checks for those with eVisas, reducing the need for carriers to make physical documentation checks and improving the passenger experience.Further information about eVisas and future updates will be available at www.gov.uk/evisa.

Sham Marriage

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to stop sham marriages and civil partnerships.

Michael Tomlinson: The Government takes abuse of the spouse and partner immigration routes very seriously and is clear that family migration must be based on a genuine and subsisting marriage or relationship.The Home Office focuses its efforts on disrupting facilitators as well as prosecuting individuals involved in sham marriages and civil partnerships and will consider refusal or cancellation of permission to stay, or removal, following any determination that a relationship is a sham.The marriage referral and investigation scheme, introduced across the UK under the Immigration Act 2014, requires that all proposed marriages and civil partnerships where one or both parties could gain an immigration advantage from it are referred to the Home Office. Under this scheme, where we have reasonable grounds to suspect a sham relationship, the marriage notice period will be extended to allow for further investigation, and for enforcement or casework action to be taken where appropriate.Part 9 of the Immigration Rules provides specific grounds for the refusal or cancellation of permission to enter or stay on the basis of any involvement in a sham marriage or sham civil partnership, providing a more robust and consistent framework against which immigration applications are assessed, and reflecting the seriousness of this type of abuse.

Prostitution: Internet

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2024 to Question 23443 on Prostitution: Internet, whether his Department has received legal advice on the legality of the operations of adult services websites.

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times (a) Ministers and (b) officials have met the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for sex work (i) online and (ii) in person in each year since 2017.

Laura Farris: The acts of buying and selling sex are not in themselves illegal in England and Wales. Adult Service Websites are online advertising directories that provide a platform on which legitimate sex workers and escorts can advertise their services and are legal under current prostitution legislation.Ministers responsible for the Safeguarding portfolio have met the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for sex work five times since 2017; at least two of those meetings were conducted virtually. The Home Office works closely with the police to cut crime and protect vulnerable people. Officials regularly meet representatives of NPCC portfolios as part of their routine engagement with the police.

Edinburgh Airport

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to help support Edinburgh Airport to provide pre-clearance for travellers to the US.

Tom Pursglove: The Government is supportive of the principle of US pre-clearance and there have been initial discussions between the UK and US governments, however, pre-clearance requires a commercial agreement between the airport operator and US authorities for these to be advanced.It is important to note pre-clearance is not something which could be quickly implemented at UK airports. Careful negotiation across the UK Government and with the US would be required before pre-clearance could become a reality at UK airports.

West Midlands Police: Finance

Mrs Paulette Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing funding to West Midlands Police for the policing of road traffic collisions.

Chris Philp: West Midlands Police’s funding will be up to £790.4m in 2024/25, an increase of up to £51.1m when compared to 2023/24.The policing of fatal and serious injury road collisions and how available resources are deployed in the West Midlands is the responsibility of the West Midlands Police Constable and Police and Crime Commissioner, taking into account the specific local problems and demands with which they are faced.

Biometric Residence Permits

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many biometric residence permits were delayed due to technical issues in each of the last three years, broken down by month.

Tom Pursglove: At the point that a decision is made to grant permission to remain, a BRP is automatically requested by the case working system and data is sent to the DVLA for the BRP to be produced. Any automatic requests that become "stuck" when sent to the DVLA are targeted and proactive reporting is being developed to identify such cases earlier. During 2024, DVLA produced 100% of BRPs within 24 hours of this automatic request process.During 2023, DVLA produced 99.6% of BRPs within 24 hours of this automatic request process and 100% within 48 hours.During 2022, DVLA produced 97.2% of BRPs within 24 hours of this automatic request process and 100% within 48 hours.During 2021, DVLA produced 75.1% of BRPs within 24 hours of this automatic request process and 100% within 48 hours.

Ministry of Defence

Army Foundation College: Staff

Sarah Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff at the Army Foundation College were found to have started (a) intimate and (b) otherwise inappropriate relationships with recruits in each year since 2014.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Sexual relationships between instructors and trainees have no place in Defence, or wider society, and the MOD’s zero tolerance approach ensures our commitment to providing a better working environment for our Serving personnel is met. Fewer than ten staff at Army Foundation College Harrogate were found to have had inappropriate relationships with recruits since 2014. Due to the very small number, this will not be broken down further. Figures have been rounded to the nearest ten. Rounding is used to preserve anonymity.JPA is a live system which is updated for retrospective complaints/allegations and therefore data can be subject to change.These figures are single Service estimates only and are not official statistics produced by Defence Statistics.There is no defined criteria for ‘intimate relationships’ or for ‘otherwise inappropriate relationships’. The figure above is based on a search for cases where there was found to have been an abuse of a position of trust at AFC Harrogate which had a sexual nature to it.

Army: Prostitution

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many incidents of British soldiers paying for sex in Kenya have been (a) investigated and (b) proven since the introduction of JSP 769: Zero tolerance to sexual exploitation and abuse in July 2022.

Dr Andrew Murrison: There have been three investigations since July 2022 related to Service personnel's suspected engagement in transactional sex in Kenya. Each of which resulted in "no case to answer".

Catterick Garrison

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel were based at Alma Barracks as of 29 April 2024.

Dr Andrew Murrison: As at 1 January 2024, there were 580 UK Armed Forces Service personnel stationed at Alma Barracks. Please note the following caveats: The number of UK Armed Forces Service personnel stationed at Alma Barracks can only be provided as at 1 January 2024 in line with Published National Statistics.This figure comprises UK Regular Forces, Gurkhas, Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS), Locally Engaged Personnel (LEP), Volunteer Reserve, Serving Regular Reserve, Sponsored Reserve and Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) of unknown origin. University Officer Cadets are excluded. The figure includes both trained and untrained personnel.The figure is based on Service personnel’s stationed location and not their location of residence – where personnel work is not necessarily where they live. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their stationed location are shown against their most recent stationed location.Figures containing Reserve personnel are estimates because the station location data for Reserves has not been fully verified.The figure has been rounded to the nearest 10 to prevent inadvertent disclosure of personal identities. However, numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Catterick Garrison

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel were based at Piave and Bapaume Barracks as of 29 April 2024.

Dr Andrew Murrison: As at 1 January 2024, there were 120 UK Armed Forces Service personnel stationed at Piave and Bapaume Barracks. Please note the following caveats: The number of UK Armed Forces Service personnel stationed at Piave and Bapaume Barracks can only be provided as at 1 January 2024 in line with Published National Statistics.This figure comprises UK Regular Forces, Gurkhas, Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS), Locally Engaged Personnel (LEP), Volunteer Reserve, Serving Regular Reserve, Sponsored Reserve and Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) of unknown origin. University Officer Cadets are excluded. The figure includes both trained and untrained personnel.The figure is based on Service personnel’s stationed location and not their location of residence – where personnel work is not necessarily where they live. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their stationed location are shown against their most recent stationed location.Figures containing Reserve personnel are estimates because the station location data for Reserves has not been fully verified.The figure has been rounded to the nearest 10 to prevent inadvertent disclosure of personal identities. However, numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Catterick Garrison

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel were based at Vimy Barracks as of 29 April 2024.

Dr Andrew Murrison: As at 1 January 2024, there were 1,170 UK Armed Forces Service personnel stationed at Vimy Barracks. Please note the following caveats: The number of UK Armed Forces Service personnel stationed at Vimy Barracks can only be provided as at 1 January 2024 in line with Published National Statistics.This figure comprises UK Regular Forces, Gurkhas, Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS), Locally Engaged Personnel (LEP), Volunteer Reserve, Serving Regular Reserve, Sponsored Reserve and Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) of unknown origin. University Officer Cadets are excluded. The figure includes both trained and untrained personnel.The figure is based on Service personnel’s stationed location and not their location of residence – where personnel work is not necessarily where they live. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their stationed location are shown against their most recent stationed location.Figures containing Reserve personnel are estimates because the station location data for Reserves has not been fully verified.The figure has been rounded to the nearest 10 to prevent inadvertent disclosure of personal identities. However, numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Catterick Garrison

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel were based at Cambrai Barracks as of 29 April 2024.

Dr Andrew Murrison: As at 1 January 2024, there were 500 UK Armed Forces Service personnel stationed at Cambrai Barracks. Please note the following caveats: The number of UK Armed Forces Service personnel stationed at Cambrai Barracks can only be provided as at 1 January 2024 in line with Published National Statistics.This figure comprises UK Regular Forces, Gurkhas, Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS), Locally Engaged Personnel (LEP), Volunteer Reserve, Serving Regular Reserve, Sponsored Reserve and Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) of unknown origin. University Officer Cadets are excluded. The figure includes both trained and untrained personnel.The figure is based on Service personnel’s stationed location and not their location of residence – where personnel work is not necessarily where they live. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their stationed location are shown against their most recent stationed location.Figures containing Reserve personnel are estimates because the station location data for Reserves has not been fully verified.The figure has been rounded to the nearest 10 to prevent inadvertent disclosure of personal identities. However, numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest 20 to prevent systematic bias.

RNAD Coulport

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel are based at Royal Naval Armaments Depot in Coulport.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The recorded number of personnel based at Royal Naval Armaments Depot in Coulport is contained within the total figure for the number of service personnel based at His Majesty's Naval Base Clyde.Therefore, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Defence procurement (James Cartlidge) on 2 May 2024 to Question 23570.Clyde Naval Base (docx, 15.5KB)

Army Foundation College: Sexual Offences

Sarah Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of charges of (a) rape and (b) other sexual offences against people working at the Army Foundation College that were brought to trial at court-martial resulted in conviction in each of the last five years.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The tables below show the number and proportion of charges at Court Martial of rape and other sexual offences involving people working at Army Foundation College Harrogate which resulted in a conviction. Rape  Number of Convictions% of Convictions2019 (7 May onwards)0020200020210020220020231100%2024 (to 7 May)00 Other Sexual Offences Number of Convictions% of Convictions2019 (7 May onwards)002020002021002022002023216.7%2024 (to 7 May)2100% Caveats:1. JPA is a live system which is updated for retrospective complaints/allegations and therefore, data can be subject to change.2. These figures are single service estimates only and are not official statistics produced by Defence Statistics.3. The data represents the number of charges; it may be that more than one charge has been brought against the same person.4. Table two shows the number of other sexual offences under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 or its historical equivalent.5. People working at AFC Harrogate does not include recruits.6. The % columns detail the proportion of convictions in relation to charges at Court Martial.

Department for Education

Care Homes: Lancashire

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the reasons for trends in the number of new children’s residential homes that have been established in Lancashire.

David Johnston: It is the decision of children’s homes providers to decide on the location and type of building that they wish to use to accommodate children in care. As part of Ofsted’s registration process, children’s homes providers are required to undertake a location assessment, which must show the steps that have been taken to ensure the location is safe and promotes positive opportunities for children. The department recognises the need to ensure there are the right children’s homes in the right places. As announced in the Spring Budget 2023, the department is continuing to invest in the children’s homes market to provide high quality, safe homes for some of the most vulnerable children and young people in all nine regions of England. In addition to taking forward the recommendations made by the Care Review and the Competition and Markets Authority, the department is also developing proposals on what more can be done to combat profiteering, bring down costs and create a more sustainable market for residential placements. The department is developing options regarding the planning of children’s homes and thanks Fylde Council colleagues for their continued engagement in this process.

Free School Meals: Education

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of free school meals on educational attainment.

Damian Hinds: The department has not recently made a formal assessment of the links between free school meals and educational outcomes.Nutritious food plays an important role in the development of healthy eating habits and ensures that pupils can concentrate and learn. That is why the department spends over £1 billion annually providing free meals to the greatest ever proportion of school children. Over one third of children are now eligible for free school meals, compared to one in six in 2010. This increase has been driven by the introduction of Universal Infant Free School Meals in 2014, as well as the department’s generous Universal Credit transitional protections put in place in 2018.

Confucius Institutes

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 27 April 2023 to Question 182232 on Confucius Institutes, if she will make an estimate of the cost to the Chinese authorities of maintaining the Confucius Institutes in the UK in 2023/24.

David Johnston: The department does not hold this information.

Special Educational Needs: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with the Department for Education in Northern Ireland on special educational needs training for teachers.

David Johnston: Education is a devolved matter and therefore England and Northern Ireland have different systems for supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The department engages with the Department of Education in Northern Ireland on a range of areas, including wider teacher continued professional development, sharing information about developments and good practice.

Religion: Secondary Education

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of studying religious education at key stage (a) 4 and (b) 5 on the educational attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

Damian Hinds: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.It is mandatory for state-funded schools to teach religious education to all pupils to age 18, subject to parents having a right to withdraw their children from all or part of the subject. However, it is not mandatory for schools to teach the religious studies GCSE or A level. The department has not assessed the impact of studying religious education at Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 on the overall educational attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

Allergies: Primary Education

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of resources for teaching children about allergies in primary schools.

Damian Hinds: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.Health education has been compulsory for all pupils in state-funded schools in England from September 2020, alongside relationships education for all primary pupils and relationships and sex education (RSE) for all secondary pupils. The statutory guidance sets out that pupils will be taught about the importance of good physical health and mental wellbeing to ensure they have the information that they need in order to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing. The statutory guidance for the Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.The RSHE statutory guidance states that by the end of primary school pupils should know the facts and science relating to allergies, immunisation and vaccination. There is also content relating to teaching about allergies in the RSHE teacher training module on health and prevention, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-training-health-and-prevention.Schools are responsible for what they teach and for any resources they use. The department does not direct schools on which resources, external speakers or organisations to use, and it does not endorse or promote resources to schools other than those produced by other government departments. The RSHE guidance is clear that all materials used should be age appropriate and factual.The department is currently reviewing the RSHE statutory guidance. The review has been informed by an independent expert panel to advise the Secretary of State for Education on the introduction of age limits for sensitive subjects.In March 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, also wrote to schools to remind them that copyright law does not prevent them sharing external resources with parents. In October 2023, she wrote again to clarify that any contractual clause that prevents schools from sharing materials is void and unenforceable, and to provide practical advice on how to share materials with parents in a way that is in line with copyright legislation. The department will ensure that the updated guidance fully reflects this very clear position. The Secretary of State’s letter can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/secretary-of-state-letter-to-schools-about-sharing-curriculum-resources-with-parents.A draft of the amended guidance will be published for consultation as soon as possible.

Department for Business and Trade

Chemicals: Russia

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that chemicals that can be used in the manufacture of choking agents are (a) tracked and (b) not sent to Russia.

Alan Mak: We have sanctioned the export of all chemicals and biochemicals of concern to Russia. This is in addition to our existing export controls, which already restrict the export of certain chemicals, pathogens and toxins. Sanctions and export controls are impacting Russia’s economy and depriving its military of key components, and we are going further by extending our capabilities.. My department has recently announced the creation of the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI) to strengthen enforcement and support industry compliance. We are also working closely with Ukraine and international partners to coordinate efforts to thwart Russia’s efforts to circumvent sanctions to gain access to technology to support its invasion.

Minimum Wage: Wales

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many employers in Wales her Department named as being non-compliant with minimum wage legislation in each year since 2019.

Kevin Hollinrake: The government takes enforcement of the minimum wage seriously. We take robust action against employers who do not pay their staff correctly. Publicly naming employers who do not comply with the rules is an important part of enforcement. Table 1: Employers named as being non-compliant with minimum wage legislation in Wales, 2019/20 to 2023/24. No rounds of the Naming Scheme took place in 2019/20 and 2022/23. Financial YearRegionEmployers named2019/20WalesN/A2020/21Wales52021/22Wales142022/23WalesN/A2023/24Wales25

Employment: Disability

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make it his policy to introduce a statutory right for disability support leave for disabled employees.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government has no plans to introduce a statutory right for disability support leave for disabled employees. All employers already have a duty to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ in the workplace where a disabled person would otherwise be put at a substantial disadvantage compared with their colleagues. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Equality Act and providing guidance on reasonable adjustments. For disabled people who require adjustments which are beyond reasonable adjustments, Access to Work (AtW) can provide a grant for the disability related extra costs of working a disabled employee may face. To support employers an AtW case manager will contact the customer’s employer ahead of making an AtW award to offer advice on reasonable adjustments an employer can provide and the support available under the AtW scheme.

Local Government: Disclosure of Information

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what protections are in place for whistle-blowers in local government.

Kevin Hollinrake: Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, workers are entitled to protection from detriment or dismissal as a result of blowing the whistle, and a route of redress through the Employment Tribunals if these protections are infringed. This includes workers in local government.To qualify for protection the worker usually has to have made the disclosure to their employer, legal adviser or a prescribed person. Disclosures relating to local authorities can be made to the external auditor of the relevant authority, the Comptroller and Auditor General (National Audit Office), or a Member of Parliament.The Government has published guidance, including on who is protected by law, how to make a disclosure, and what protections are available to whistleblowers. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/whistleblowing

Members: Correspondence

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when she plans to reply to the correspondence of (a) 26 January and (b) 26 March 2024 from the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran on concerns raised by a constituent about the conduct of Post Office Limited towards postmasters.

Kevin Hollinrake: The correspondence from the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran was responded to on 8 May 2024.

Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department carried out impact assessments prior to its decision to delay the implementation of the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act, which became law in May 2023, will require employers to pass all tips on to workers, without deductions. The accompanying statutory Code of Practice laid before Parliament on 22nd April 2024, and the other measures in the Act, will be effective from 1st October 2024. The implementation date for the Act was revised from 1st July 2024 to 1st October 2024 to ensure sufficient time for those affected by the changes to prepare. The impacts of the new requirements were considered in the impact assessment prepared for the Act: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3197/publications.

Treasury

Migrants: Wales

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made a recent estimate of the financial support it can offer local authorities in Wales to support them with the costs of the no recourse to public funds restriction.

Laura Trott: Funding for local authorities in Wales is a devolved matter, and it is for the Welsh Government to allocate their resources as they see fit in this area. The Welsh Government are accountable to the Senedd for their spending decisions.

Revenue and Customs: Correspondence

Alyn Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking with HMRC to help ensure taxpayers receive (a) prompt and (b) accurate responses to queries.

Nigel Huddleston: HMRC strives to answer all queries promptly and accurately. HMRC is also encouraging more customers to use its online services which are accessible 24/7 and regularly score satisfaction scores of over 80%. The details requested by the Hon. Member are published monthly by HMRC at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-monthly-performance-report-february-2024

Child Benefit

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average waiting time was for processing a new application for Child Benefit in the latest period for which data is available.

Nigel Huddleston: In May 2023 HMRC launched a new digital service for child benefit claims. The details requested by the Hon. Member are published by HMRC at: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/42980/documents/213810/default/

Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his planned timetable is to amend the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 to differentiate between (a) domestic and (b) foreign politically exposed persons.

Bim Afolami: The Government has already amended the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 to distinguish between domestic and non-domestic politically exposed persons (PEPs). The amendment came into force on 10 January 2024 and makes clear that regulated firms must apply a lower level of enhanced due diligence to domestic PEPs and family members or close associates of domestic PEPs, compared to non-domestic PEPs, unless other risk factors are present.

Public Sector: Redundancy Pay

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many responses were received to the consultation entitled Public Sector Exit Payments : A New Controls Process for High Exit Payments which closed on 17 October 2022; and for what reason a response has not yet been issued.

Laura Trott: The Government received 32 responses to the consultation on 'Public Sector Exit Payments: A New Controls Process for High Exit Payments'. HM Treasury will publish the government response in due course.

Disposable Income

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has been made on the levels of household disposable income as a result of the potential impact of the OBR's forecasts on household income.

Bim Afolami: Since 2022, the government has demonstrated its commitment to households by providing one of the largest support packages in Europe. Support for households with the cost-of-living, from 2022-23 to 2023-24, totalled £96 billion – an average of £3400 per UK household. Real Household Disposable Income (RHDI) per capita has outperformed OBR expectations. RHDI per capita grew by 1.3% in 2023, rather than falling by 3.2% as predicted in the OBR’s March 2023 forecast. This means that, in 2023, RHDI per capita was over £1,200 higher than the OBR expected in their March 2023 forecast, when using 2019 prices. In the 2024 Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced a further 2 pence cut to the main rates of National Insurance Contributions. This adds to a boost of similar size from the National Insurance Contributions cut announced in the Autumn Statement 2023.

British Steel: Workplace Pensions

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish any (a) internal reviews and (b) audits conducted by the Financial Conduct Authority on the consistency of the redress scheme for British Steel Pension Scheme members.

Bim Afolami: HM Treasury does not hold internal reviews or audits conducted by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) concerning its redress scheme for former British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) members.

British Steel: Workplace Pensions

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to help ensure that members of the British Steel Pension Scheme receive equal compensation.

Bim Afolami: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for the regulation of the financial advice market and has looked closely at the advice provided to British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) members who transferred from the scheme. Following this, the FCA has put in place a consumer redress scheme to ensure that the advice given to former BSPS members from the relevant period is reviewed and that redress is paid to those who lost out financially as a result of the poor advice they received.

Cash Dispensing

Duncan Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of ATM closures on (a) access to and (b) the depositing of cash.

Bim Afolami: Currently, LINK (the scheme that runs the UK's largest ATM network) has commitments to protect the broad geographic spread of free-to-use ATMs and is held to account against these commitments by the Payment Systems Regulator. LINK has committed to protect free-to-use ATMs more than one kilometre away from the next nearest free ATM or Post Office, and free access to cash on high streets (where there is a cluster of five or more retailers) that do not have a free-to-use ATM or a Post Office counter within one kilometre. LINK publishes monthly statistics on its ATM network on its website https://www.link.co.uk/initiatives/financial-inclusion-monthly-report/#:~:text=LINK%20has%20also%20committed%20to,commitment%20can%20be%20found%20here. However, in recognition that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those who may be in vulnerable groups, the government legislated through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 to establish a new legislative framework to protect access to cash. This establishes the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash and provides it with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities. The FCA recently held a consultation on its proposed regulatory approach: FCA Access to Cash Consultation. The FCA is currently considering feedback and expects to publish its final rules in the third quarter of this year.

Banks: Closures

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies on small businesses of trends in the number of bank closures in the last two years.

Bim Afolami: Decisions to open or close a branch or mobile banking service are commercial decisions for firms and the Government does not intervene. However, it is imperative that banks and building societies recognise the needs of all their customers, including those who need to use in-person services. Banks and building societies occupy a privileged position in society and are essential to enabling businesses to manage their money on a day-to-day basis. Guidance from the FCA sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned closures on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs, and put in place alternatives, where this is reasonable. Alternative options to access everyday banking services for small businesses can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and via the Post Office or Banking Hubs.

Self-assessment: Maladministration

Munira Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many paper self-assessment tax returns were erroneously dispatched by HMRC to people who normally complete their self-assessment tax returns online in financial year 2023-24.

Munira Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of HMRC sending (a) paper self-assessment tax returns to people who complete their tax returns online for the 2023-24 financial year and (b) correction letters to those people.

Nigel Huddleston: HMRC are aware that some customers who normally file their Self Assessment (SA) tax returns online have received a paper SA. These were sent in error, and customers who were expecting to file online should continue to do so. HMRC have written to everyone affected to apologise for the confusion and to reassure them that they do not need to take any action other than to file their return, which they can still do online, by the 31st January 2025.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Artificial Intelligence: Elections

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the AI Safety Institute plans to carry out testing on the societal impacts of AI on elections.

Saqib Bhatti: The AI Safety Institute has responsibility for developing and conducting evaluations on advanced AI systems, including assessing potentially harmful capabilities. As part of this, it will evaluate the direct impact of advanced AI systems on individuals and society - including how people are affected by interacting with these systems and the ways AI systems are being used in both private and professional contexts. Part of this work will explore the impacts of frontier AI on democracy, including elections. The Institute is collaborating on this with key partners in the UK ecosystem – initially with the Alan Turing Institute.The Government takes the integrity and security of our democratic processes very seriously and is working to ensure we are ready to respond to the full range of threats to our democratic processes, including through the Defending Democracy Taskforce.

Telemedicine: Voice over Internet Protocol

Anthony Mangnall: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 22 April 2024 to Question 21381 on Telemedicine: Older People, whether her Department undertook an economic impact assessment of Public Switched Telephone Network migration.

Julia Lopez: Ofcom and DSIT have not conducted an economic impact assessment for the transition to digital landline services. The decision to make this transition was made by telecoms companies, not the Government. The UK’s telecoms regulator released its positioning statement in 2019 which reviewed various regulatory considerations. Ofcom is responsible for the monitoring process of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) migration. Ofcom in its statement captured issues related to consumer impact, downstream service providers, and the wider impact on the future of fixed telephone services. Ofcom and DSIT recognise the necessity in upgrading the PSTN. The network is increasingly unreliable and prone to failure; therefore, it is imperative for the PSTN to undergo the necessary upgrades to keep pace with modern-use of telecommunications services. While this is an industry-led process, Ofcom and Government are working together to monitor how Communication Providers approach the migration, with the protection of vulnerable customers being the top priority.

Northern Ireland Office

Euro 2028: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) stakeholders on the timelines for the announcement of capital requirements for the stadia for the Euro 2028 Championships.

Chris Heaton-Harris: EURO 2028 is a fantastic opportunity for the UK and Ireland to showcase world class sport as hosts. The UK Government is continuing to work closely with relevant stakeholders including with regards to host stadia for EURO 2028.The Government remains committed to ensuring EURO 2028 leaves a lasting legacy across the UK

Cabinet Office

Industrial Disputes

Bob Seely: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the average number of workdays lost in each strike action in each month in 2023.

Bob Seely: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the average number of workdays lost in each strike action in each (a) week and (b) month of 2024 as of 30 April 2024.

John Glen: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.A response to the Hon. Member’s parliamentary question of 30/04/24 is attached. UKSA Letter (pdf, 98.4KB)

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Care Homes: Children

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what progress his Department has made on making an assessment of the potential merits of introducing new planning rules on Material Changes of Use and Permitted Development for children’s residential homes.

Lee Rowley: The joint ministerial statement on planning for children’s homes jointly published in May 2023 by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Department for Education remains the most up to date government policy on this matter. I am aware of the Hon Member’s concerns on this issue, and if he has more information to share we would be happy to receive it.

Housing: Insurance

Duncan Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will provide guidance to home owners with rotten loft timbers caused by spray foam insulation on taking steps to find appropriate insurance.

Lee Rowley: We are aware of issues that some homeowners are finding after having sprayed foam installed in their loft space and have worked with the industry and stakeholders to find a resolution.The insulation, lending, and surveying communities published new protocols in March 2023 to allow an assessment of these spray foam installations. These describe a structured route to assessing risks from this type of insulation and are intended to provide reassurance to lenders and insurance providers. These can be found here: https://www.property-care.org/resources/spray-foam-insulation-inspections and Guides & Documents - IMA (insulationmanufacturers.org.uk). These include advice that building professionals surveying spray foam insulation should be familiar with the requirements of BS 5250:2021 where this relates to hygrothermal evaluation or suitable condensation risk assessment.We will continue to work with regulators and industry to ensure that insurers and lenders take a fair and proportionate approach when considering building-related risks. Correspondence between departmental officials and the regulator has been published on the gov.uk website.

Floods: Government Assistance

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many applications were (a) made and (b) rejected to access funding under schemes within the flood recovery framework in the last two years; what total amount was that has been paid out through the flood recovery framework; and how many and what proportion of applicants received the maximum pay out of £25,000 under the flood recovery framework.

Simon Hoare: In the last two years the Flood Recovery Framework has been activated twice – following Storm Babet in October 2023 and Storm Henk in January 2024. The decision to accept or reject applications for flood recovery funding is made by local authorities who are responsible for administrating all schemes, apart from the Farming Recovery Fund. To date, eligible local authorities have made payments of over £7.8 million to 8,510 impacted households and businesses. We expect this figure to rise substantially as further payments are made over the next 18 months.With regards to the specific question on the £25,000 available under the Farming Recovery Fund scheme. DEFRA have only opened this once within the last two years on 9 April 2024 to provide farmers support to recover from uninsurable damage. The scheme provides grants of between £500 and £25,000 to return land to the condition it was before exceptional flooding of Storm Henk. The fund was initially opened in nine English local authority areas, however, DEFRA committed actively to review the areas to be included in the fund. Those farmers who were initially identified as eligible farmers have been contacted directly by Rural Payments Agency. DEFRA will be contacting all eligible farmers following completion of our review.

Ministry of Justice

Crown Court: ICT

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the potential additional cost to the public purse for the continued use of the digital case management system as well as Common Platform by Crown Courts.

Mike Freer: Whilst the detailed allocation of funding to HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) for 2024/25 is still being finalised, the annual support cost for Digital Case Management system is expected to be £0.6 million for the foreseeable future, plus another £0.4 million to complete work on an interface between this and Common Platform in 2024/25.

Legal Aid Scheme: Wales

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people without the means to pay are able to access legal (a) advice and (b) representation for social welfare matters in Wales.

Mike Freer: In the last financial year, we spent approximately £1 billion on civil legal aid to support the most vulnerable.We have injected £10 million a year into housing legal aid through the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS). Since the launch of HLPAS in August 2023, individuals in England and Wales who are facing eviction or repossession have been able to receive free early legal advice on housing, debt, and welfare benefits issues.All HLPAS schemes in Wales are currently served by an in-court duty solicitor who is able to give emergency on the day advice to anyone facing possession proceedings. Additionally, individuals facing the loss of their home can access early legal advice in respect of housing, debt and welfare benefit issues on a remote basis from any HLPAS provider irrespective of their geographic location. The current list of HPLAS providers can be found via this link.The Ministry of Justice is also providing additional support to providers who deliver HLPAS, funding a panel of specialist legal advisors (available to providers across England and Wales) and providing £1.5 million in grant funding for the recruitment of trainee solicitors in England and Wales. Both measures are intended to boost provider expertise in social welfare law and enhance their ability to deliver legal aid.The following table is a breakdown of legal aid providers and provider offices in Wales (position as of 2 April 2024). The LAA is satisfied that there is adequate provision of services in Wales across all categories of legal aid, including under the relevant HLPAS schemes. CategoryProvidersOfficesDebt527Housing527Welfare Benefits11HLPAS17 Wherever you are in England and Wales, legal advice for housing and debt remains available through the civil legal advice telephone service.Furthermore, since the publication of the Legal Aid Means Test Review (MTR) Consultation Response in May 2023, the Government has been developing detailed implementation plans for the new legal aid means assessment. When fully implemented, this will increase the number of people eligible for civil legal aid in England and Wales by an additional 2.5 million per year.The Ministry of Justice is also undertaking a Review of Civil Legal Aid to identify evidence-based options for moving to a more effective, efficient, and sustainable system for legal aid providers and the people who rely on legal aid. We will publish reports for all workstreams by May 2024, and plan to consult on proposed options in a Green Paper in July.

Immigration: Legal Aid Scheme

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help increase access to legal aid for immigration and asylum cases in Wales.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the level of legal aid provision in Wales.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) unaccompanied children and (b) other asylum seekers can access legal aid services in Wales.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of taking steps to increase the (a) recruitment and (b) training of immigration solicitors and advisors in Wales.

Mike Freer: The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors supply across its legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis and, where demand is greater than the available supply, takes action within its operational powers to secure additional provision to ensure the continuity of legal aid-funded services. The LAA is satisfied that there is adequate provision of services in Wales across all categories of legal aid. Once implemented, individuals who receive a removal notice under the Illegal Migration Act (IMA) will have access to free legal advice in relation to the removal notice. We are setting fees for IMA work at 15% above the usual hourly rate to help augment capacity so we can meet the anticipated increase in demand for legal aid advice. We have taken a number of steps to help increase access to legal aid for immigration and asylum cases across England and Wales. For example, we are providing up to £1.4m of funding in 2024 for accreditation and reaccreditation of senior caseworkers to conduct immigration and asylum legal aid work. In 2019, we brought non-asylum immigration and citizenship matters into scope for under 18s who are not in the care of a parent, guardian, or legal authority. This means, for example, that a separated migrant child making an application for entry clearance, leave to enter, or to remain in the United Kingdom, or an application for registration as a British citizen or as a British subject, or for registration as a British overseas territories citizen or a British Overseas citizen is now entitled to legal aid, subject to the means and merits tests. The ongoing Review of Civil Legal Aid is considering the broader economic context of the civil legal aid market as a whole, including for immigration cases, so that it can operate sustainably in the long-term. we are due to publish a Green Paper in July 2024.

Community Orders

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of community service.

Edward Argar: There is persuasive evidence indicating that community sentences in general can be more effective for reducing reoffending than custodial sentences. The Department’s latest published reoffending statistics (Proven reoffending statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)) show that 55% of those released from prison after serving a custodial sentence of less than twelve months were convicted for a proven offence in the following 12 months. This compares to 32% of those serving a court order (community sentence or suspended sentence order) or 24% of those serving a suspended sentence with requirements served in the community.Community Payback completed over 4.7 million hours in 2023 undertaking work to improve communities, the environment and supporting charities. In 2023, Rapid Deployment pilots tackling anti-social behaviour hot spots has seen 8,809 hours of community payback completed and 509 different people involved and given its success this initiative is being rolled out to areas in all Probation regions.A process evaluation by the Ministry of Justice of Unpaid Work commenced in 2022 to assess what works in the delivery of Unpaid Work. An impact and economic evaluation comparing the effectiveness of Unpaid Work to other punitive sentences in reducing reoffending will report in March 2025.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Farms: Solar Power

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what criteria his Department use to assess whether to build solar farms on productive farmland.

Robbie Moore: Planning decisions on solar development are granted by local planning authorities, or, where applications are for developments over 50MW, with the Secretary of State for Energy. The National Planning Policy Framework sets out clearly that local planning authorities should consider all the benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land, when making plans or taking decisions on new development proposals. Where significant development of agricultural land is shown to be necessary, planning authorities should seek to use poorer quality land in preference to that of a higher quality. The recently published and updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) sets out that planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by recognising the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside, and the wider benefits from natural capital and ecosystem services – including the economic and other benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land, and of trees and woodland. Where significant development on agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be preferred to those of a higher quality. The availability of agricultural land used for food production should be considered, alongside the other policies in the Framework, when deciding what sites are most appropriate for development.

Environment Protection

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of existing legislation to tackle common nuisances such as (a) smoke, (b) bonfires, (c) smells and fumes, (d) accumulation of rubbish, (e) infestations and (f) litter.

Robbie Moore: Local authorities are the main enforcers of the statutory nuisance regime under the Environmental Protection Act, 1990. The Government considers that any issues that could be the cause of statutory nuisance, including smoke, bonfire and smells are best dealt with at a local level. Local authorities need to be able to take account of local circumstances when determining how best to apply the powers available to them, such as issuing abatement orders. Owners of industrial, trade and business premises are expected to use the best practicable means available to reduce smoke, smells and fumes and other potential sources of statutory nuisance emanating from their place of work in the first place. The Environmental Protection Act 1990 also sets out clear responsibilities for local authorities with regards to keeping land clear of litter and refuse and provides them with strong enforcement powers to help them do this. Anyone caught littering or fly-tipping may be prosecuted which can lead to a significant fine or even imprisonment in the case of fly-tipping. Instead of prosecuting, councils may decide to issue a fixed penalty (on-the-spot fine). We increased the upper limit for fly-tipping and littering fixed penalties to £1000 and £500 respectively in July 2023 and as of 1 April 2024 councils must now reinvest income from these penalties in enforcement and clean up. Additionally, we provide guidance on how councils can discharge their duties and use their enforcement powers and have recently consulted key stakeholders on putting our current litter enforcement guidance on a statutory footing. The Secretary of State considers the current legislation provides local authorities with the necessary powers to deal with these types of nuisance issues.

Dangerous Dogs: Enforcement

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of measures to reduce the need to seize dogs which are likely to be exempted from Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

Sir Mark Spencer: Dogs that are prohibited under section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and which do not have a valid certificate of exemption could be seized by the Police. In these cases, there is an interim exemption scheme which allows suspected prohibited dogs to remain with their owners in advance of a court hearing. It is for the Police to determine whether to make use of this scheme on a case-by-case basis.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to write to the hon. Member for Christchurch on the potential impact of the level of phosphates in the River Avon on housing developments in Christchurch.

Robbie Moore: I refer the hon. Member to my letter issued on 7 May 2024.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to write to the hon. Member for Christchurch on the Avon Valley footpath between Burton and Christchurch.

Robbie Moore: Following our recent meeting on the Avon Valley footpath, I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Written Questions

James Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to answer Question 21855, tabled by the hon. Member for Ealing North on 15 April 2024.

Robbie Moore: The answer to Question 21855 was published on 2 May 2024. I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member.

Sewage: Water Sports

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of sewage discharges into waterways on the health of those using the waterways for water sports between 2019 and 2024.

Robbie Moore: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is responsible for detecting, investigating and managing outbreaks of infectious diseases including those linked to water sports. They have not made a specific assessment about the impact of sewage discharges into waterways on the health of those using waterways for water sports between 2019 and 2024. However, the Government takes the health of users of our waterways very seriously and is clear that the current volume of sewage being discharged to our waters is unacceptable. Our Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan will eliminate ecological harm from all storm overflows by 2050. It also requires all storm overflows discharging to designated bathing waters to be improved by 2035. Where a waterway is a designated bathing site, information about the quality of the water is displayed by local authorities on signage and online on the Environment Agency’s Swimfo website, to allow bathers to make informed decisions before entering the water.

Farmers: Finance

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to provide financial assistance to farmers in debt.

Sir Mark Spencer: The recent ‘Balance Sheet Analysis’ publication highlights that average liquidity in the sector has been consistently improving over the latest five years of data and reached a ten-year high in the latest year of data (2022/23). This suggests that levels of debt in the farming sector are lower than average. We support farmers in a range of ways to ensure they have profitable and sustainable businesses. This includes free business advice as well as access to a wide range of Government funding to improve business resilience, productivity and environmental performance.

Fungicides

Douglas Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Health and Safety Executive’s proposal to withdraw approval for (a) Mancozeb and (b) other multi-site fungicides.

Sir Mark Spencer: Defra is aware of the concerns of GB potato growers about the Health and Safety Executives’ (HSE) proposed decision to withdraw approval of mancozeb. GB pesticides legislation requires that decisions on active substances are solely based on careful scientific assessment of risks, to provide a high level of protection for people and the environment. HSE has reviewed the approval of mancozeb. In light of new scientific and technical information received, HSE has concluded that the active substance no longer satisfies the approval criteria. The review concluded that mancozeb has endocrine disrupting properties for humans and non-target organisms. In addition, non-dietary exposure exceeded the reference levels. HSE has therefore proposed to withdraw approval of mancozeb in GB. The withdrawal of products containing mancozeb will not be immediate; we expect HSE to set an 18-month grace period (six months for sale and supply, and 12 months after that for storage, disposal and use) to allow existing stocks in the supply chain to be used up. Under certain circumstances, set out in Article 53 of Assimilated Regulation 1107/2009, it is possible to grant emergency authorisation for the placing on the market of a pesticide containing an active substance that is not approved. There must be special circumstances where limited and controlled use is necessary because of a danger to crops, other plants or the environment, including human or animal health, that cannot be contained by any other reasonable means. We are not aware of any HSE proposal to withdraw any other multi-site fungicide.

Water Companies: Capital Investment

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with Ofwat on water companies outsourcing capital programmes to separate companies.

Robbie Moore: Direct Procurement for Customers (DPC) involves a water or wastewater company competitively tendering for services in relation to the delivery of certain large infrastructure projects, resulting in the selection of a third-party competitively appointed provider. As part of Ofwat’s Price Review 2024, companies are encouraged to consider the use of DPC approach for discrete projects over £200 million. Outsourcing delivery via DPC has a range of possible benefits, including lower capital and operational costs, lower financing costs, and the provision of benchmarks for efficient costs. Whether a project is delivered via DPC is a decision for Ofwat.

Department for Transport

Motorcycles: Driving Licences

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on assessing the Motorcycle Industry Association’s proposal for assessors from approved training bodies to carry out licence upgrades for vehicles up to 22kw.

Guy Opperman: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency is committed to reviewing all aspects of motorcycle training and testing, and is in the process of assessing the Motorcycle Industry Association’s proposals. Officials met with key representatives of the motorcycle organisations on 4 December 2023 to discuss motorcycle safety. The next round table meeting, which is scheduled for 8 May 2024, will further consider the proposals and options including licence upgrades.

Fisheries: Safety Measures

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help increase the use of personal locator beacons on lifejackets in the fishing industry.

Guy Opperman: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) recently published a new Marine Guidance Note and a leaflet on the use and wear of personal locator beacons.

Electric Vehicles: Secondhand Goods

Jack Brereton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding for an awareness campaign to help tackle negative perceptions over the long-term (a) viability and (b) reliability of second-hand electric vehicles.

Anthony Browne: Alongside government, industry plays an important role in communicating factual information on EVs and charging infrastructure to consumers. That is why in the Plan for Drivers, the Government committed to working with industry to address common misconceptions around electric vehicles (EVs) and communicate the many benefits of transitioning to EVs, both new and used. In February, the Government published information on EVs, including used vehicles, and EV charging infrastructure. The Government is also taking proactive action to counter inaccurate information presented by the media on the subject of EVs, when this arises.

Aviation: Fuels

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of financially incentivising the use of sustainable aviation fuel.

Anthony Browne: On 25 April 2024, the government’s response to the second consultation on the UK SAF Mandate was published. This confirmed the final design of the scheme which, subject to parliamentary approval, will come into force on 1 January 2025. The SAF Mandate builds upon the success of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RFTO), providing a long-term incentive to supply sustainable aviation fuel through a guaranteed level of demand. As part of the SAF Mandate’s design, the government has published Cost Benefit Analysis documents that comprehensively present the possible costs and benefits of the scheme.

Department for Transport: Freedom of Information

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average time taken by his Department to respond to a freedom of information request was in each of the last five years; how many and what proportion of such requests his Department did not answer within the target time in each of those years; and how many such requests to his Department had not been answered within the target time asof1May2024.

Anthony Browne: The department does not record the time spent in answering individual Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and is therefore unable to calculate an average time for answering such requests in any of the last five years. Statistical information on the Department’s performance in answering FOI requests over the last five years is published by the Cabinet Office at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics. These statistics, which cover all Government departments, include the number that were not answered within the target time. They are published by calendar year, with the latest year being 2023. The annual statistics for 2024 will be published in April 2025 but quarterly statistics may be available sooner.